


Deals with the Devil

by joinallthefandoms



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Loki Wins, Begging, Humiliation, Kneeling, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-06
Updated: 2017-07-23
Packaged: 2018-08-19 19:42:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,704
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8222600
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/joinallthefandoms/pseuds/joinallthefandoms
Summary: When Pepper is wounded by the strange magic of the Chitauri, even Bruce cannot save her. With his lover's life on the line, Tony is left with no one else to turn to. He goes to find Loki. How far is Tony Stark willing to go to save Pepper? How much of a dick is Loki, really? How dedicated to this story am I gonna get before I eventually stop halfway through? Stay tuned to find out.





	1. Chapter 1

_The sky bled vivid hues of red and orange as fire seethed above the New York City skyline. Massive Chitauri ships were pouring from the heavens, their supply heart-wrenchingly abundant. The Avengers fought as passionately as ever, but they were as hopeless as the citizens they were attempting to defend. For every soldier they killed, there were five more to replace it. The city was a wound gushing blood and the team was struggling to keep pressure applied as relentlessly as it was needed. They were hopelessly out of their depth, though they refused to admit it over the telecommunications devices they were equipped with. Steve barked orders with the stoicism of a captain and the team followed, but even their fearless leader knew that nothing more could be done. Loki had done what he’d been threatening to do all along: forced Midgard to its knees._

Steve fought with a broken arm, Clint with an empty quiver, Natasha with fractured ribs, Tony with very little juice left in his battered suit. Thor and the Hulk battled as furiously as ever, but even they were tiring a little. The Avengers had a finite number of members and cumulative sum of energy, but Loki’s army was seemingly endless.

“I don’t want to have to be the one to do it,” Natasha said into the telecom. Her teammates, who’d been silent over the network for several face-paced minutes of battle, listened intently as they continued to fight. “But I’m calling it.”

Steve let loose a small grunt of pain as he was hit with another blast from the Chitauri’s spears. “We still have a city to fight for.”

“There will be nothing left to fight for,” argued Natasha. “We are responsible for millions of people, Cap. If we fight for much longer, we put them at even more risk.”

“So we do what, then?” Steve spat, his voice tight with pain. “We lie down and let Loki take exactly he wants? We lay down our weapons and surrender the city?”

“As much as I hate to say it, I agree with Betty White,” quipped Tony. “We’re all the city has now. Mr. Divine Purpose doesn’t get to win this one.”

Suddenly, the voice of a certain god boomed above them all. An illusion or spell, no doubt, to get his message across to the whole city.

"People of New York City ," his arrogant voice sneered. "You have nothing to fear of me nor my army. With a peaceful surrender, this city will escape total destruction. I seek not to destroy this planet nor enslave its people. I seek only to rule, as is my divine right of birth. Anyone that attempts to retaliate or attack me or my officers will face immediate execution. I, as the King of Midgard, will be treated with the deference I deserve. Your Mayor is dead. Your military has abandoned you. Surrender willingly or I will lay siege to the city until nothing remains but ash.”

His threat hung ominously in the eerily-silent streets, floating tangibly in the air and making it taste of something bitter. The Avengers were silent on the comm.

“Well,” Tony said dryly. “We’re fucked.”

 

**…**

 

Two weeks had passed since the Avengers surrendered New York. They had ceased their battling and disappeared into the undergrounds, evading Loki’s forces by the skin of their teeth. They hopped from country to country, fleeing Loki’s influence as it followed them, tendrils of darkness that nipped at their heels and kept them awake at night.

Their fugitive group included not only the whole team, but also Pepper, who’d been rescued by Tony during the initial battle. Times were hard and the future was bleak, but they had each other.

That is, until they didn’t.

There was a raid on the system of Siberian caves they were hiding in. They’d only been in that location for a few days, but Loki had been hot on their trail for the entire previous week. Clint was on watch when there came a massive explosion from only a few hundred meters away. The whole team was awake and moving in seconds, gathering supplies and readying their weapons. They were almost to the mouth of the outer cave system when their pursuers rounded the bend just behind them.

A single orb was fired from a Chitauri scepter. It was lobbed over several dozen feet, sailing through the air weightlessly. With their backs turned, the group couldn’t have seen it coming. The ball soared just over Steve’s head and hit Pepper square in the nape of the neck. Her body seized uncontrollably and she collapsed to the floor, the whites of her eyes vast and empty in their sockets.

Tony released an anguished cry as he turned to Pepper, her scream echoing all around the cave. He was drowning in her agony, suffocated by her pleas. Her body writhed as he gathered her in his arms and flew them out of the cave. His grip was alarmingly tight as he flew far above his team, deaf to their cries and blinded by tears. Her speech was slurred, her skin worryingly pale. She was too weak to so much as open her eyes.

The team followed Tony’s lead on the ground and, after several hours of intense running, they collapsed in a clearing deep in the woods. They seemed to have evaded the Chitauri, but they tripled the number of people on watch as a precaution.

When they arrived in the clearing, Tony demanded that some sort of shelter be built for Pepper. The snow was ankle-deep and the negative temperatures weren’t helping her intermittent tremors. Even so many hours after the blast hit her, she still couldn’t speak or open her eyes. Bruce, who’d since de-Hulkified, examined her.

“What’s the damage?” Tony asked.

Bruce looked at him with those sad puppy eyes and sighed. “Her pulse is weak and she seems to be in a coma. If she doesn’t wake up soon, it’s likely she’ll contract pneumonia.”

“And if that happens?” Bruce was silent. Tony understood. He lowered the visor of his suit to keep his tears from freezing.

Once a fire had been built and a blanket was fashioned out of his shirt, Tony left Pepper in the team’s care.

“Where are you going?” Steve asked Tony, his voice hard with fatigue.

“I can’t sit here and watch her like this,” Tony said roughly. “I’m going for a fly.”

“Are you sure you want to exhaust your suit like that?” Steve asked. Even with the mask on, Steve could feel waves of fire emanating from Tony’s red-rimmed eyes. He frowned apologetically and waved a hand as if to say “go ahead.” Tony turned his back firmly on the captain and rocketed into the sky.

 

Tony flew as fast as he could. He demanded more of the suit than was responsible. He didn’t conserve enough fuel for a round-trip ticket. He didn’t expect to be able to use one, anyway.

After an hour of hard flying, Tony arrived in the heart of New York City with his suit at just 7% capacity. He flew slowly over the skyline, deep in thought. Where would he go to find what he was looking for? His answer all but screamed at him.

Tony flew recklessly through the window Loki’d thrown him out of just weeks earlier, smashing the newly-repaired glass. Beneath sheaths of armor, his skin boiled with rage and his heart pulsed at an uncomfortable rate.

“Loki!” he yelled. His voice echoed in the massive living space, deafening to even his own ears.

“Come out here, you sorry son of a bitch!” he screamed, his voice raw with dehydration. Were he able to focus on anything but his erratic heartbeat, Tony might have heard the distinctive padding of fine leather on marble, or the soft chuckles that played endlessly in his head, taunting him like an unsolvable riddle.

“Most people have to schedule an audience to stand there,” Loki said. His voice was buttery, his motions cat-like in their elegance. Tony pivoted so fast he cracked his neck.

“I’m not like most people,” Tony retorted. Curtains of scarlet fell over his vision as Loki threw his head back and laughed, a deep mocking noise that made his hair stand on end.

Loki leaned casually against the bar, the scepter lying just next to him. “I must say, I am surprised. Are you so arrogant as to think that you can slip through my fingers twice, Stark?”

The smugness in his voice was the trigger of a gun. Before he knew he’d even moved, Tony had Loki pinned up against the wall by the neck. The god’s eyes twinkled dangerously, but he said nothing.

“Pepper is dying,” Tony seethed. “Pepper is dying and you’re gonna tell me how to fix her.”

Loki raised a sleek, perfectly-manicured eyebrow, his face an expanse of cold, smooth ice. “Is that so?”

Tony slammed his head into the wall so hard it dented. “Yes,” he growled.

Loki’s mouth turned upward in a smirk. He chuckled like nothing had happened, like Tony hadn’t smashed his skull into a wall. “Let me go, Stark.” It was such a nonchalant command, such a thoughtless order. He wore authority like a well-tailored suit and it made Tony fume.

“Give me one reason why I should.” Tony’s vision was obscured by the 5% capacity warning of his suit. His muscles trembled with exhaustion and hunger, but he would not relent. He would fight Loki with everything he had. He would deplete the suit entirely if he had to. No matter what it took, he would figure out how to save Pepper.

“This has been quite the theatrical display of chivalry,” Loki purred. “Very impressive.”

“Stop fucking talking in circles” Tony snarled, slamming Loki into the wall again. “Tell me how to save Pepper or so help me-”

“Or what? What are you going to do, Stark?” Loki laughed. “Are you going to kill me?”

Tony took the liberty of answering with a sharp punch to the jaw, but still Loki was infuriatingly amused by the whole situation. Tony was going mad, pushed closer to the edge by every uninterested comment, every unconcerned, cocky laugh.  

“I’ll ruin you,” Tony snapped. “I’ll burn you. I’ll make you wish you never even stepped foot on the planet.”

Loki, growing increasingly more annoyed by Tony’s stupidity, detached himself from the hero with a simple twist of the other man’s wrist. Tony was so consumed by his anger that he didn’t even register that Loki had moved until the man was behind him.

“So arrogant, even when he’s been reduced to something so pathetic,” Loki taunted. His eyes glinted with the curiosity of a madman. “So blind amidst such clarity.”

Tony shot his blaster, reducing the suit’s capacity to 4%. It was worth it, though. The blast hit Loki directly in the gut, causing him to bend over slightly. Tony took his opportunity and raised his leg in preparation for a clean vertical kick, but Loki caught his foot just before it slammed into the crown of his head. The God of Mischief twisted the limb sharply, drawing a satisfying crack from the bones. The pressure caused the meticulously-welded metal of Tony’s suit to warp at the seams. His foot was broken, trapped within the metal confines of his suit. He hobbled pitifully on one foot, angrier now than he’d ever been before.

Loki spoke then with a crazed smirk on his face. “Don’t you understand, Stark?” He punctuated this with a blow to Tony’s torso. The metal protecting his abs yielded to Loki’s power and his ribs cracked with the pressure of the concave alloy. Between hobbling on his one good foot and cradling his burning torso, Tony was ready to keel over, but Loki caught him before he could fall.

“You have no power,” Loki almost whispered. He trapped Tony against the wall, holding his throat with his forearm. “You have nothing to threaten me with. I am a god who has lived longer than your species has been on this planet. I have more strength in my finger than you do in all your silly little suits combined. You dare to step into my domain and threaten me?”

Tony winced as the pressure on his windpipe increased. The capacity of his suit was down to just 3%. Fear and rage and pride were the only things keeping him conscious.

“I am your King,” said Loki. “And I will have your respect.” Unable to speak, Tony just shook his head (as much as he was able, given he was pinned to the wall by his neck). Loki released him, allowing a quick breath before he smacked Tony across the face with the butt of his scepter. The metallic clang of his helmet resounded deep in Tony’s ears, causing a small groan to escape him.

Loki straightened himself back up to his full height, standing regally over his prey. He turned his back decisively on Tony and sprawled gracefully across a barstool. Illuminated tendrils of magic swirled around him and the chair, dancing around his form until Tony was forced to shield his eyes from the burn. When he opened them, Loki was sitting in a throne.

“I alone can heal her,” Loki said. “I am your only hope, Stark, your only option.”

And then, Tony understood. He understood what it meant to him to have just 2% capacity left in the suit, and why he had nothing to threaten Loki with. He understood the throne, the display of extravagance. He understood what he had to do.

Teeth gritted, Tony removed the suit. He pressed the button and immediately the gears whirred into life, retracting and spinning until he was left practically naked before the God of Mischief. He felt horribly vulnerable, his last line of defense just a compact square of titanium alloy on the ground. He wore only his undershirt, as his other shirt had been converted into something of a blanket for Pepper. He felt small and weak and humiliated. He avoided eye contact with an obviously surprised Loki and took a deep breath. _For Pepper,_ he thought.

Abandoning the suit on the floor behind him, Tony took a tentative step forward, wincing as his ribs protested and his broken foot dragged along the floor. He centered all his weight on his left leg, but that was ready to fold beneath him. His body trembled with an anger he’d not known for many years and a fear he’d tried so hard to escape. He stood before Loki and, without a word, allowed the deep weight in the pit of his stomach to guide him down. He fell to his knees on the marble floor and stared resolutely at Loki’s shoes, shame burning at the ends of his fingertips.

“I’m sorry,” Tony said, his clipped tone betraying his inner rage. He tried to play up the words, maybe seem a little genuine, but both he and Loki knew that he was forcing every word past reluctant lips. Loki probably liked it better that way, anyway.

“I’m sorry, what?” Loki asked condescendingly, crossing one leg over the other. Tony couldn’t stand to look at what was surely the most smug face he’d ever seen. He forced the bile down his throat as indignation bubbled in his stomach.

“I’m sorry… _sir_ ,” he fumed. That little word alone had surely taken years off his life from cardiothoracic stress, but clearly that wasn’t good enough. Loki tutted, dissatisfied. The pointed end of the scepter dug into the underside of Tony’s chin. Loki raised his head until their eyes met.

“Try again,” Loki commanded.

Tony steeled himself against the nausea that wracked his insides. His palm bled as his fingernails dug into the flesh, distracting him from the dull pain in his knees. He forced himself to remember Pepper’s scent, the texture of her hair after shower sex, the soothing sound of her whispers as he thrashed about in a nightmare he couldn’t escape.

“I’m sorry, my King.” His hands itched to pick up the compact suit that lay only a few feet away.

“Excuse me?” Loki taunted, feigning deafness. Tony had to take a deep breath before he trusted himself to stop biting his tongue. He placed his arms behind his back, hoping Loki would interpret it as a display of submission. In reality, he just wanted to be able to clench his fists out of the god’s sight.

“I’m sorry, my King,” Tony said through gritted teeth, louder this time. When he struggled to the end of the sentence, he dropped his gaze. He focused on one particular speck of dirt on the floor so as to better control his furious shaking.

“I must say, Stark,” Loki laughed, dragging a hand through Tony’s unruly hair. “I’m impressed.” His movements went from comforting to painful within seconds as he clenched his fist. Tony’s scalp burned and he involuntarily hissed as his head was forced back. As he knelt before Loki, throat bared and hands behind his back, he felt fear take the place of anger in his belly.

“Now that you’ve earned your audience,” Loki drawled, releasing Tony’s hair and reclining in the regal throne. “Is there something you’d like to try asking me again?”

 _Pepper, Pepper, Pepper, Pepper, Pepper,_ Tony thought. _She would do it for you, and she would have done it faster. Do it for Pepper._

“Please, my King, will you heal Pepper?” Tony said quickly, rushing through the words as if ripping off a bandaid.

Loki’s fingertips trailed delicately over the edge of his scepter, his unamused expression souring rapidly. “My patience grows ever-thin, Stark. If you cared about your woman as much as you’d like to pretend, this conversation would be long over.”

Then, he leaned in. His face rested just inches from Tony’s. Their eyes were locked onto each other. Cold, sharp green met soft brown in a silent war.

“Beg me for her life,” Loki ordered. “Prostrate yourself before me, Iron Man, and beg your benevolent king to save your lover’s life.”

Tony swallowed bile before it could escape, sweat trickling down his temple. His hands shook behind his back as he barely managed to keep them from wrapping around the god’s neck. _She will die, Tony_ , he screamed at himself. _Pepper’s going to die and it will be your fault. Only you could be so selfish. Only you would even consider putting your pride before the only person that could ever love you._

Loki wanted a show? Loki wanted a huge display of submission? He wanted Tony humiliated and broken and riddled with shame? Well, that’s what he would get. Tony needed Pepper to live.

Tony bowed forward, palms braced on the cool stone floor. With a great amount of difficulty, he managed to press his lips to the toes of Loki’s shoes. He stayed down low, on his hands and knees, and spoke in a loud, clear voice.

“Please, my King,” Tony begged. “Please save Pepper. I’ll do anything, anything you want. I’m begging you, please. Make me your whipping boy. Make me your public example. Save Pepper’s life, and I’ll give you everything I have, everything I am. Please.”

Again, Loki tilted Tony’s chin upward with the scepter. A small grin played at the corner of his mouth. “You’re beautiful when you beg, Stark.” Tony shuddered. “But I’m afraid I can’t help you.”

“What?” Tony said in incredulity. He forced himself not to swing his fists, but he could remain kneeling no longer. He sprang up to his feet.

“It requires much of my energy to reverse the effects of the Chitauri’s magic,” Loki explained emotionlessly. “You have nothing so valuable to offer me in return.”

Tony scrambled for an answer, so deeply infuriated by Loki’s games that he couldn’t form a coherent thought. Before he could say anything at all, Loki cut him off.

“I have no use for your money, or your weapons. You possess no information I don’t already have. Again, your arrogance has blinded you. You simply aren’t as important as you once were, Tony Stark. In the new Midgard of my creation, there is no room for the Avengers.”

Tony mulled this over for a second, hopelessness robbing him of any emotion. He shuffled through his limited options, the reality of Loki’s words settling deep in the marrow of his bones. Exhaustion made his head heavy and his thoughts sluggish, but still he found something of a solution. The very prospect of it, however, was enough to finally propel the vomit from his stomach. He turned his back on Loki, vulnerable and weak and red with shame, and threw up until there was nothing left. When he turned back, tears in his eyes, the God of Mischief looked intrigued.

“Take me,” Tony said, his voice much more resolute than he felt.

“Pardon?” Loki said, finally standing from his throne. Tony silenced the protestations of his brain and spoke before he could change his mind.

“Barton vacated the position for your blue-eyed bitch,” Tony explained. “He left you without a servant. Save Pepper’s life, and use that stupid glowstick on me the way you did Barton.” Tony paused. “Please.”

Loki mulled this over for a second before he chuckled, simultaneously enraging and terrifying Tony. This was his last chance.

“An interesting proposal,” Loki said pensively, pacing across the broad expanse of the room. He went to stand before the smashed window, surveying the city below him. Tony bit his tongue so hard it bled. He didn’t trust himself to speak right now.

After a hellish few moments of silence, Loki spoke. “I will accept your terms on one condition, Stark.”

Tony fought to remain composed and not break down sobbing. “What condition?”  
“I will not use the Tesseract to subjugate you,” Loki decided, the smirk of a madman on his lips as he twirled the scepter in his hand. “I want it to be your eyes that look at me as you kneel. I want it to be your words I hear when I permit you to speak. I’m not, how you Midgardians say, letting you off that easily.”

Tony gulped. Loki wanted a slave, and a slave he would get. Barton had explained the feeling of being under the Tesseract’s influence just a few days prior to this. He’d detailed the sensation of being made to say something while you were really trying to say something quite different. He painted a scene in which he tried to fire his arrow off target and his body wouldn’t let him. He described being trapped in your own head, battling to get out.

What Loki was describing was perhaps worse. He wanted Tony to be cognizant while he was trained to be a perfect servant. He wanted Tony to be conscious- to be Tony-while he was made to kneel and beg and obey. He didn’t want a robot. He didn’t want to make this easy. No, Loki wanted to have Tony intimately broken, piece by piece.  

A lot of thoughts ran through Tony’s head at once, but only one could be heard above the others. _Pepper. Pepper. Pepper._

“Deal,” Tony said determinedly. He extended his hand and Loki took it, a Cheshire grin distorting his features.

 


	2. Chapter 2

“What if something’s wrong?” asked a trembling Banner. “What if Loki had a tracker on him this whole time?” Steve’s eyes were strangely hollow in the light of the dying fire. He stoked the embers idly with a stick, determinedly ignoring the blue tinge his fingertips recently acquired.

“Tony is fine,” he said, not a hint of doubt in his voice. He raised his eyes from the fire and offered the doctor a weak smile.

“You should get some rest,” Bruce suggested. “I know this- this whole situation- it’s been taking more of a toll on you than you want to admit. I get it, Steve, but you’re not doing anyone any favors by pushing yourself so hard. I’ll take your watch, I’ve slept plenty.”

Steve wanted to argue, but he found he simply couldn’t. He murmured his thanks to the doctor and lay down to rest, his arm still fastened in the shield. He raised his hood over his eyes and slept almost immediately.

 

A hundred yards away, two silhouettes stood in the moonlit shadows of barren trees. One shivered violently while his companion surveyed the area with an ease that suggested he was not at all affected by the bone-chilling winds. Powdery snow swept all around them as the skeletons of great oaks sang their woes to the night.

The coldness in the taller man’s gaze was paralleled only by the frigidity of the winter air. His movements were precise, his breathing calculated. He didn’t offer so much as a glance to his companion, whose teeth had started chattering.

“B-B-Bruce is on watch,” shivered the smaller man. “T-th-there’s no w-way you’ll reach Pepper without them noticing.”

“Don’t be stupid,” said the taller man sharply.

 

Bruce withdrew his arms deep into his thermal jacket, wincing as his numb fingertips came into contact with his fevered torso. Like a sudden wave of nausea, fatigue overtook him. He barely managed a yawn before his eyelids snapped shut, almost as if they’d been forced. Around him, his companions snored. None stirred as footsteps approached, not even Natasha, who awoke at even the slightest provocation.

 

Through the clearing came the two figures. One stepped easily over twigs and leaves with the grace of one that was intimately familiar with the deep wilderness. The other, clumsy with cold-numbed limbs, stumbled behind him like a wounded animal.

The moonlight breathed softly over the taller man’s face as he knelt to examine one of the sleeping travelers. He cupped her face in his hand, much to the obvious discomfort of his companion. Her lank hair fell over her face in curtains, concealing from the world the full extent of her injuries. She was unresponsive to touch and sound, unaroused even by her lover’s presence. The smaller of the two men looked over her, helpless, as the other began his work.

An incantation whispered, white knuckles clutching a glowing scepter. Winds picking up, depositing snow everywhere. Ears burning with cold, tears freezing as they fall. Bated breath and prayers and promises. Magic and love and pain, so indistinguishable, so torturous in their complexity.

Silence. Silence that worms its way into the marrow of the smaller man’s bones. Silence that wraps around his throat like a vice, that lay heavy in his gut. Death, or salvation.

“She is healed,” trembled the taller man, retracting his hand from her face. His swift and graceful movements were perhaps less so. He braced himself against a tree trunk as he stood, his face gaunt with exhaustion. “She will awake by morning.”

Tony Stark steeled himself against the euphoria that wracked his insides. All he could do was nod.

“We must leave,” commanded Loki. “Now.”

Tony looked up at him, first with confusion, then with furious understanding. “I don’t get to see her awake? I don’t get to say goodbye? To any of them?” His voice was tight with a pain he’d never known the likes of. Harsh emotion tugged at him, shrapnel buried in his heart he’d long since forgotten.

Loki looked at him with an eyebrow raised. “You’re very rapidly forgetting your place, Stark.” His voice was heavy, dangerous. Were he able to feel anything other than heartbroken, Tony might have started feeling fear.

“I can’t leave now,” Tony protested angrily. “They’ll think I’m dead.”

With what little strength he had left, Loki shoved Tony against the trunk of a tree held him by the throat. He withdrew a small silver dagger from inside his leathers. Wearing the grin of a madman with the eyes of a snake, he held it roughly to Tony’s jaw, teasing him with the razor-sharp blade.

“Would you rather they think you dead,” Loki offered lightly, mania lighting up his face as he dug the knife in deep enough to draw blood. “Or find you dead.”

The threat hung in the air, swirling between them the breaths that rose in clouds. Tony could feel his pulse racing, but he could also feel his heart being torn messily from his chest. Pepper would live, only to find that Tony was dead. He would never again get to see her eyes spark with laughter, or her lips purse with anger, or her toes curl with pleasure. His last memory of Pepper would be of her comatose body lying impotently in the snow.

“What will it be, Stark?” Loki asked lightly, shaking Tony from his reverie.

Tony felt his pulse beat against the man’s hand, a silent reminder. When he spoke, he couldn’t disguise the tremble in his voice.

“Let’s go.”


	3. Chapter 3

It was cold. Why was it still cold? Why did all the bad guys have their evil lairs in fucking cold places? Yeah, yeah, Frost Giant blah blah, whatever. Tony was so over the cold.

As he blinked groggily and tried to rub the small icicles from his eyelids, Tony’s wrist encountered resistance. His motion stopped abruptly as his shackle’s chain grew taut. Tony huffed and tugged and seethed, but the metal would not give.

He slumped against the wall angrily, knocking his funny bone in the process. Steam all but rose from his ears as Tony forced himself to stop, breathe, and rationalize. He was chained up by the wrists. He was sitting on the ground with his legs outstretched. The wall was made of a sturdy, jagged rock, but the floor seemed to be normal hardwood.

“What the fuck?” Tony muttered to himself. His last memory was being embraced by Loki’s weird magic. Its silvery tendrils wound their way up his body like teeny tickly snakes. His body warmed under its touch, soothing the panic in his chest. When he next opened his eyes, he was here.

The strange calm induced by the magic had long since receded, however. In its wake Tony was left paranoid, hurt, and scared. With every second he was awake, his heart ached for Pepper. He thought of what she was doing now- accepting tea from Bruce in shaking hands, tearfully screaming at Cap and telling him to find her Tony- casting her prayers into the universe. Tears slipped down Tony’s face because he couldn’t be there, because he should’ve been able to close the fucking portal and maybe if he had, they wouldn’t be here. Loki had won because Tony Stark had finally done what Howard always knew he would- fucked up so monumentally that the world imploded.

Tony was heartbroken. He was devastated and disappointed and sorry. But, more than anything, he was angry. He was mad at himself for his failure, mad at that fucking Chitauri for shooting Pepper. The rage that brought warmth to his fingertips and made him foam at the mouth, however, was reserved for one man.

Loki.

The God of Lies, who played with lives like some sick fucking puppeteer. The self-proclaimed King of Midgard, who, in less than twenty four hours, stole everything Tony held dear- New York, Pepper, the Iron Man suit.

 _Well,_ Tony thought bitterly. _He’s not taking anything else._ Loki wanted his heart? He wanted his mind and his submission? He wouldn’t get any of them. Tony decided then and there that he would fight tooth and nail until the end of time.

Adrenaline started pumping as Tony’s system flooded with a focused rage. His teeth were gritted as he tried in futility to escape his bonds. Brown eyes illuminated with determination, Tony tugged and tugged. He snarled like an animal as he thrashed, growling and panting. He fought until he had nothing left. He slumped against the wall, chest heaving, depleted entirely of the adrenaline that had overwhelmed him just minutes ago.

As he fell slowly off this high, a harrowing thought rang clearly through his muddled mind. Amidst internal cries of rebellion and obstinance, there came a haunting understanding.

Pepper.

Tony could not fight. Why? Because he would never win. Loki held Pepper’s life in his hand, a delicate flower he could so easily crush. She would never be safe without Tony to protect her, and now he was trapped. Trapped because he’d been forced to make a deal that ultimately put him at a serious disadvantage. He knew how Loki operated, almost embarrassingly well. He’d dealt with villains like him before.

Pepper would be used as a threat against him for the duration of time. His stubbornness would be her demise, his good behavior would ensure her safety. Any illusion of rebellion, any whisper of fight in him, fled. Tony was left shivering in his corner, weakened more by the truth than the frigidity.

Loki stared at his prisoner pensively, a smirk growing at his lips. He read his pet’s body language more easily than even Thor’s. The reality of his predicament had set in. Frustration and self-loathing and desperation raged in him. It was beautiful to watch.

 

Tony’s head rose from his chest and his eyes narrowed. There had been just the slightest of shifts, the tiniest little noise from the opposite corner. Maybe it was the darkness that had enhanced his hearing, or the deafening silence had finally pushed him over the edge. Before Tony could make out movements in the shadows, however, Loki materialized before him. It was eerie, to watch the empty space before you just suddenly be filled by a person. Magic gave him the creeps, that was for sure.

Tony looked up at Loki- curiously? There was a defiance in his eyes he couldn’t help or even recognize, but Loki saw it. It aroused and frustrated him in equal measure. Well- maybe it aroused him just a bit more.

“Hello, pet,” Loki said suavely. With a click of his fingers he summoned light to the- cave? Cell? Tony’s eyes took a moment to adjust before he could see that he was in a... dungeon? As he’d suspected, the floors were made of wood and the walls of craggy stone. There was a winding staircase on the opposite wall, maybe ten feet away. Other than that, there was nothing. No windows, no stains, no anything. The lack of detail almost made Tony woozy.

Apparently he took too much time absorbing the room’s details- or lack thereof- because Loki brought Tony’s attention back with a crisp backhand. Tony tasted blood and saw red. He looked up at Loki and forced himself to stop trembling with rage. He couldn’t.

“Speak when you’re spoken to,” commanded Loki. Tony eyed the scepter in his hand, almost without meaning to. Loki followed his gaze and almost grinned. He was happy to see that fear was taking the place of defiance in his pet’s eyes. The ratio, however, was still way out of balance. That would need correcting.

“Hello,” Tony replied. He fought so hard to keep his voice even, but there was a cruel edge to it anyway. He’d never been much of an actor. When Tony Stark was truly angry or sad or happy, you knew. And, right now, he would certainly qualify as angry. Loki chuckled at his pet’s effort. Tony was expecting some sort of taunt, maybe an insult, perhaps a long-winded speech. What he got instead was alarming in its unpredictability.

Loki reached a hand out and unshackled Tony from the wall. The younger man looked at him confusedly, withholding his thanks until he understood the motive. Loki smirked again and turned on his heel. Tony watched stupidly as he left, rubbing at the raw skin of his wrists.

Loki turned at the staircase to see his pet standing in the same spot he’d left him in. His voice dripped with dominance when he ordered, but his eyes twinkled with… something. He spoke like he expected unconditional obedience, but he looked at Tony like he wanted something else.

“Come,” he commanded. Tony recoiled at his tone. He resented being spoken to like that- like he was a dog. His immediate response was both stupid and worth it.

“Make me,” he spat. The second he said it, he regretted it, but somehow he couldn’t think of a single other acceptable thing to have done. He certainly couldn’t have obeyed. He knew he had to for Pepper and for his own survival and as per the terms of their agreement, but he couldn’t. There wasn’t a single bone in his body that would let him just roll over and accept the proverbial dick in his ass. He was a Stark. He was an Avenger and goddamnit he had pride in abundance. So, he stood tall with his chin raised and waited for his ass kicking like a fucking man.

Loki took a few steps forward and closed his eyes. He held his palms together and bowed his head as if in prayer. Tony looked at him confusedly before searching for a hidden camera. He was getting punk’d, right?

“Hypothermia or drowning?” Loki asked suddenly, his voice dangerously calm.

“What?” Tony looked at the god like he was one of the weird crazy people on the subway. Not that he took the subway, really. But he’d heard stories.

“How do you want your lover to die?” Loki replied venomously, stepping forward with sharp movements. He stood before Tony, an eyebrow raised as he crossed his arms across his chest.

“Don’t you fucking dare-” Tony started forward, but Loki caught his fist in his hand. Tony’s right hand was trapped in Loki’s left, his arm raised awkwardly. Loki gripped him painfully but Tony showed no sign of this pain. That is, until Loki twisted that arm. He twisted and twisted until Tony dropped to his knees with a cry. If Loki so much as sneezed, he would break Tony’s hand. Tony’s right hand. Tony’s inventing hand.

“Let me go,” Tony yelled. Loki laughed and then he did. He released Tony’s hand and sent the smaller man sprawling back with a hard kick to the chest.

“Worry not, Stark,” he drawled. “Yours are not the bones I will break for your insolence.”

The threat was clear. As Loki began walking back toward the staircase, Tony felt blind panic and fear and anger bubble in his stomach. He spoke before he knew what he was even saying.

“Please,” he begged, staying on his knees to really sell it. Loki’s attention was piqued, but only enough to turn him around. His foot stayed on the first step of the stairs. Tony knew he had to do better.

“Please, Loki. Punish me. Pepper has nothing to do with-”

Loki’s words were bitter and thus propelled Tony further into his chasm of fear. “Do you presume to tell me who has ‘something to do with this’, Stark? Do you think you know better than I?” The world seemed to crumble with the weight of these words. Everything was falling apart and Pepper was going to die because he fucked up- again- and he couldn’t fix it and Loki was irretrievably angry this time and Tony had nothing left to promise away. His pulse raced as fear blurred his vision and bile crept steadily up his throat. He pitched himself forward on his hands and knees and bowed his head, tears of pain and humiliation mingling on his face.

“Please, Loki, please,” he cried. “I swear I don’t know better than you, alright? I didn’t mean anything by it, please-”

“So what did you mean?” Loki asked, his voice transitioning from serrated steel to velvet. He all but purred as he strode arrogantly above his prisoner, smugness radiating off him in waves. He used the tip of the scepter to tip Tony’s head up, forcing the man to make eye contact with him.

Tony looked beautiful like this. Fear and panic evident in his tearing eyes, desperation controlling him as he knelt before his king, begging and flattering and crying. Arousal stirred deep in Loki’s belly as he toyed with his pet.

Meanwhile, Tony felt like he was drowning. He had to get Pepper out of this whole fucked up scenario. He needed to get her out of the equation entirely, out of his stupid-shit-splash zone.

“Please,” he began, kind of speaking the words just as he thought them. “Punish me. Hurt me, break me, torture me. Pepper has done nothing. Don’t make an innocent woman responsible for my stupidity. I disrespected you, so punish me. Please.”

Loki took an agonizingly long moment to mull this over. The only sound that could be heard in the room was Tony’s labored breathing, punctuated by the occasional sniff or hiccup. His muscles trembled with exhaustion as he forced himself to look at the floor. He felt so vulnerable like this, on his hands and knees with no way to see Loki’s reaction, but he didn’t want to risk movement. His situation was so precarious, breathing too heavily might set Loki off.

“I’ll make you an offer, Stark,” Loki finally proposed. Tony did not move, or breathe, or think. “Name a punishment that I think is suitable, and I’ll agree to punish only you for any future discretions. I’ll leave Ms. Potts alone, for now.” Another invisible threat, another contingency that left Tony dancing on his puppet strings.

“What if the punishment I suggest is too lenient?” Tony asked. He dared now to lean back on his knees and look up at Loki.

Loki smirked before thinking about his response. “Then I’ll punish you and Ms. Potts both.”

Tony’s head swam. He didn’t know how criminal an offense he’d committed in Loki’s eyes. He didn’t know what was appropriate, how much he could probably take, or anything. The only thing he knew was that Pepper was going to suffer if he didn’t, so he thought hard about his response. He looked at Loki and tried to make some inferences, but he didn’t have much to go on. He didn’t have a clue as to what the god might like, what he wanted, what he expected. This was going to be a shot in the dark and Loki fucking knew that.

His blood ran cold when he realized he found the perfect answer. It was the only thing he was sure could work, but the thought of it made him throw up in his mouth. The consideration of it brought goosebumps to the surface of his skin and made him tremble with fear. For a horrifying moment, he had to think about how much he loved Pepper- if he was willing to do this to save her.

Of course he was.

Tony had to swallow three times before he trusted himself to speak. When he did, he could not meet Loki’s eyes so instead he looked at the floor.

“When I was imprisoned in Afghanistan, they- they” he cleared his throat. “They waterboarded me.” He knew Loki had read his file, or had someone read it and relay the information back to him. He saw the god furrow his brow at the word “waterboard”, though, and as much as it pained Tony to have to so intimately relive the experience, he forced the words out of his mouth. “They forced me underwater until I couldn’t breathe and kept me there, just on the brink of unconsciousness, until I agreed to build them a weapon.”

Loki sneered when he spoke, but Tony heard the curiosity beneath. “And you think this an equal trade, Stark? Instead of taking a life tonight, I get to shove your head underwater?”

Tony’s voice was shaky when he responded, this time as he looked Loki in the eye. “Yes. I do think it’s an equal trade.” A weird, unexpected courage swept him just then, and he dared to stand. Loki’s eyebrow quirked upwards in surprise but he said nothing as Tony squared up to him.

“Punish me with the thing I fear most, Loki, and we’ll have an equal fucking trade. You don’t get to threaten me with Pepper’s life again.” Tony put his hand out and it hovered between them, a question mark drawn in the air. 

Loki looked at Tony's hand for a pensive moment. Then, his eyes flicked back up to meet the engineer's. 

And then he laughed. 

 

 

 

 


	4. Chapter 4

Tony Stark didn’t scare easily, but he’d have to lie to say that Loki’s laugh didn’t almost unhinge him. It a terrifying threat. Even the worst torture Tony had ever endured wasn’t enough to satiate the God of Lies. And, as these and other thoughts began to bombard him with crippling uncertainty, Tony dropped his gaze.

Loki’s laughs quieted to chuckles and then to silence as he surveyed his pet. He circled the man, his movements almost feline in their gracefulness. His fingers trailed just the lightest of trails down Tony’s arm and Loki chuckled again as goosebumps rose to meet him. The shorter man’s fear was almost palpable- to Loki it smelled of pure sex. 

Loki’s eyes were dark as they bore into Tony’s. In one swift movement, Loki had Tony pressed against the stone wall, one arm held behind his back. The god held the engineer’s hand strategically on the line between pleasure and pain. It was uncomfortable but bearable. Just to toy with his pet, though, Loki allowed his hand to… twitch. 

Tony’s breath hitched. The pain wasn’t his concern, the position was. With even the smallest of movements, Loki could break his arm. 

“Now, pet,” Loki murmured, breath hot in Tony’s ear. “Are you really so naive?” Loki silently released Tony’s arm and allowed him a breath to gather himself. Once his pet’s eyes rose daringly back to his own, however, Loki threw him back against the wall and held him there with a forearm across his throat.

Tony stood, paralyzed under Loki’s rough hold, and stared back with as much courage as he could muster. 

Loki got much closer to his pet’s face than was necessary. His breath was weirdly cool on Tony’s face when he spoke. 

“You know nothing of pain,  _ Iron Man _ ,” Loki mocked. “Do you truly believe that the worst thing I could do to you is shove your head underwater?” He laughed again, but this time with less mirth. His eyes twinkled dangerously as he pushed against Tony’s windpipe more forcefully, cutting off his oxygen. Tony’s head swam and his heart raced, but his eyes just weren’t right. When Loki looked deeply into those globes of umber, he saw insubordination. He saw silent but present defiance. He saw a delightful challenge, one he sought to conquer. 

Just as Tony was about to pass out, he was released. He fought to remain standing but was forced to double over as his lungs almost scrambled out of his chest. When he regained his breath, he pulled himself up to his full height. Though Loki was several inches taller in stature, that height advantage seemed to vanish when Tony stood with his chin raised and shoulders held back. His pride gave him height and confidence and courage. Loki smirked at this realization. 

“I know pain better than you think you do, Bambi,” Tony spat. 

Loki fought the urge to laugh again. “Is that so?” 

Tony hardened his tone, irritated by Loki’s condescension. “Yeah.”

It was a stupid little game of Alpha v Alpha, but one that both men were determined to win. Tony wanted to prove that he would not break, that he wasn’t afraid of Loki, that he would somehow escape from this and reconcile with Pepper. Inversely, Loki wanted to disprove all those things. He wanted to see Tony Stark kneeling at his feet where he belonged, properly worshipping his king. 

“I’ll offer you one last offer, Stark,” Loki said, the corners of his mouth turning upward ever so slightly. “But, be wary. If you fail, the consequences will be dire.” That last word was little more than a reverent whisper. It sent chills up the length of Tony’s spine but he was careful not to have any visible reaction. 

“Hit me with your best shot, Reindeer Games,” Tony said arrogantly. “You wanna arm wrestle? Play a round of blackjack?”

If Loki was confused by these weird Midgardian cultural references, he didn’t show it. He just smirked knowingly at the avenger’s stupid and endearing hubris. 

“I will show you what pain is,” Loki purred. “I will burn away everything you know, and everything you think you are, Tony Stark.” He licked the shell of Tony’s ear erotically, grinning as the smaller man tried to stay still. “I’ll absolutely devastate you.”

“Doesn’t sound like a really lucrative deal for me,” Tony said lamely, his nerve endings seemingly ablaze. Loki nibbled lightly on his ear, and as repulsive as it was, it was also kinda hot. When Loki stepped back, Tony felt like he could breathe again. 

“Always so impatient, Stark,” Loki tutted. “I haven’t told you the most exciting part yet.” Tony raised his eyebrows expectantly as Loki conjured his staff into his hand. “If you can endure your punishments without making a noise, you will have my word that Pepper Potts will never again be used as a threat against you.”

The craziness of the proposal was enough to shake Tony entirely from his weird erotic stupor. He shook his head indignantly and spoke with a risky edge to his voice. “Are you kidding? That’s no fair deal. You get to torture me for however long - probably forever - and I can’t make a single noise?” Tony wanted to voice his other complaint, but he knew he couldn’t. It seemed like Loki was gaining so much more from this arrangement- he got to see Tony beg on his hands and knees (again) and an opportunity to torture him as extensively and creatively as possible, but all Tony got was an empty promise. 

Loki considered this a moment, placing a hand to his chin (sarcastically?) and humming. “Very well. I will limit our play time to just a couple of hours. You are allowed to cry and scream, but no words, and no eye contact. Are those terms more agreeable, Stark?” 

Tony mulled this over a second before voicing another concern. “And what if I mess up? What are you gonna do if we make eye contact or I say something?”

Loki laughed one more time, baring the porcelain skin of his neck as he threw his head back. When he spoke again, Tony couldn’t help just the slightest, most depraved little bit of arousal. 

“I’ll make you regret it.”


	5. Chapter 5

Loki winked and Tony dropped his gaze. The punishment had started. The game was on. 

Without another word, Loki turned once more to the stairs and strode over to them. This time he did not deign to look at Tony before issuing his command in a softer, silkier voice than Tony expected. "Come," he said with equal amounts softness and authority. Tony hesitated for a split second, rolled his eyes, and turned to follow the god. Tony took short strides and walked with his eyes on his feet. The impulse to make eye contact was a strong one, and Tony made himself silently promise Pepper that he would not lose this battle because of something so fucking simple. 

Once the god felt his pet's presence behind him, he proceeded up the stairs, the order to follow inaudible yet clear. Tony wound his way up the steps silently, separating himself and Loki by several steps. Even at the top he didn't dare look up, for in his heart he knew that even being able to guess at where he was, let alone identify it with confidence, wouldn't be of any help to him. 

The floors they walked on were slate gray stone. Maybe concrete? Limestone? Who the fuck cared. All Tony cared to know was what he was going to face when they got wherever they were going. Though he wouldn't care to admit it, even to himself, his palms were sweating. His heart rate was more than just elevated-it was skyrocketing. In futility he tried to convince himself that pain is temporary, as so many people had told him, but he knew from experience that that wasn't true. As they wove through a maze of corridors, Tony could only focus on the number of steps they had taken, and how many more steps it would take to get there, how many seconds of physical wellbeing he had left. When he saw the feet in front of him freeze, then pivot, Tony took a shaky breath and suppressed a shiver. 

Then came the squeak of a door, and Tony watched the feet before him move. Before he knew it, he was standing in the middle of a room. He chanced a peek up and immediately afterwards wished that he hadn't. Whips and canes lined the walls. Chains hung from the ceiling. Blades of all sorts were organized neatly in a rack next to a fireplace with pokers nestled in the coals. Loki began moving into his line of sight so Tony hastily lowered his gaze again. 

"Are you scared, Iron Man?" Loki's words were spoken like fresh snowfall on stagnant water and they prickled Tony's skin. He stood right in front of the shorter man, bearing a small grin that no one could see. Tony kept his lips shut tightly. He wasn't going to get tripped up so easily.  _Don't speak,_ he reminded himself.  _Don't make eye contact._

Loki chuckled slightly as he placed his hands behind his back and started pacing around Tony. He circled him slowly, a predator teasing its prey. "You are scared," he told Tony. "You're absolutely  _terrified."_ This last word came out like a snake's hiss, which was super confusing considering it didn't have a single "s" in it. 

Loki stood behind Tony, uncomfortably close, and whispered coldly in his ear. "You are completely at my mercy. No suit, no team, no leverage at all. And the scariest part, Stark?" Loki paused, as if expecting a response. "You have no idea what you've signed yourself up for."

Fuck, was he right about that, but Tony had no visible reaction to these words. Inside he might've whimpered slightly, but to any invisible spectator he appeared calm and unaffected. 

Without any sort of preamble, Loki strolled back around to Tony's front and crossed his arms. "Look at me," he commanded forcefully. Tony didn't budge. He knew how to play Simon Says. When Loki saw that no reaction was forthcoming, he punched Tony in the face. Hard. The engineer reeled back before snapping his head up. His eyes flitted immediately to the space between Loki's eyes before he hastily returned his gaze to the floor and set his jaw. 

"Uh oh," Loki sang. "Was that a little slip-up, Mr. Stark?" Tony shook his head feverishly. Loki moved one hand up to his face as if to stroke his chin and Tony flinched so minutely that Loki almost didn't catch it. His laugh grew louder, now, and colder. "Are you always so jumpy, Anthony?" He whipped a hand around like he was going to slap the smaller man, which made Tony flinch once more, but his hand stopped just inches away from his soft cheek. Tony exhaled shakily and balled his hands into fists.

"He grows angry, the poor man," Loki laughed. "He is impatient. You must forgive me for indulging these preliminary theatrics. Yes, I do agree. We should move along to the main act of this pantomime" Loki grabbed Tony by the chin harshly and bobbed his head up and down in imitation of a nod before throwing him to the ground. Tony fell hard onto the stone, disoriented slightly by his head, which cracked into the stone and throbbed a little too hard. Tony fought against Loki's hands, which forced his arms behind his back and bound them with... what? Tony felt no rope nor chains but somehow his hands were restricted, almost as if they'd been fused together at the wrists. Magic was an extremely unfair advantage. 

Once he was properly incapacitated, Tony was dragged off the floor and into a chair. Again, he forced himself to look anywhere but at Loki, whose crotch was now the thing he was trying to avoid at eye-level. Without seeing Loki's hands, Tony heard him snap, and then found himself without a shirt on. It simply disappeared. Restrained, silenced, and bare-chested. The three things Tony Stark loved being, especially in front of his greatest and evilest enemies.

Loki reached a hand out toward the arc reactor and Tony had to bite his lip to contain within the confines of his mouth the word "no." The god's fingers traced the scars surrounding the circle, fingernails scratching lightly but not clawing. Tony fought to keep his breathing even and controlled, but he grew ever more anxious as Loki's hands circled almost reverently around his life source. It was creepy and weirdly intimate and he wanted it to stop but it just wouldn't. When Loki withdrew the scepter from behind his back, Tony's eyes darted up to watch its tip. Loki might've followed Tony's gaze if his own wasn't focused so intensely on the arc reactor. Tony watched, breath held, as the weapon descended slowly until it floated centimeters away from him. Just as it touched with a faint  _clink,_ Tony squeezed his eyes shut, terrified that they'd be blue when he next opened them. When nothing happened he inched his eyes open, making sure that they were focused downwards. He couldn't see Loki's face, but if he could, he would see an inquisitive, curious scowl. 

Loki stood up suddenly, snapped again, and a book appeared in the air before them. Loki reached a hand out nonchalantly, grabbed the book, thumbed through the first hundred or so pages, then stopped on a page that was bookmarked with a lovely white feather. Tony did not indulge his curiosity but rather focused on the scepter, which stood straight up without being held or supported by any means he could observe. His eyes followed its curve, examined its sharpness, swept over every detail as his mind processed the information and sought to understand what it was made of and what exactly it did. When Loki slammed the book shut and sent it back to whatever dimension from which he'd summoned it, Tony brought his eyes back to his knees and began wondering what was in the book. 

As quickly as he'd moved to summon the book, Loki started toward Tony and pulled him from the chair. The engineer felt himself grabbed by the neck. Loki stood his prisoner up and shoved him over to the far wall, where a crucifix stood. Tony slammed roughly into the wooden structure, heard a snap, and somehow was tied to it, all within the span of a second. His arms were extended to his full wingspan and glued to the cross, or at least that's what it felt like. He was pressed bodily against the thing, his palms facing back toward Loki. At least now it was easier to avoid eye contact. Tony's head was forced to the left. The wall that had been there seconds ago was now made of reflective glass. He saw himself in the mirror-half-naked, tied up, and just feet away from Loki, who was staring at his canvas with the creative madness of an artist gone rogue. 

"Eye contact through the mirror does not count," the god clarified, turning to the mirror to see Tony. "So your eyes stay open the whole time. Am I understood?" Tony shook his head as best as he was able. 

"Good." Loki snapped and consulted the book one more time before disappearing it again and striding over to the fireplace. He selected a pointed little beauty and blew on its glowing red time a couple times. Tony could only watch in horror through the mirror. He was utterly helpless. For a second he considered shouting something, anything, to convince Loki to have mercy, but he knew before he even fully formulated that thought that it was no use. He would only lose this bet, and Pepper, and any chance he'd ever have to truly be good to her. For her. 

Tony expected some long-winded soliloquy, you know the ones- where the bad guy goes on and on about how he's apprehended and emasculated the good guy, how he's gonna reinvent pain or whatever, yada yada yada- but no such thing came. There was only searing pan, awful fucking agony, that consumed Tony and after just a second made him scream at the top of his lungs. The boiling metal was carving into his skin, emitting a horrific noise, a disgusting smell. Tony screwed his eyes shut against the pain and the sight, and felt the metal just graze his heel. He howled.

"Eyes open," Loki reprimanded. "Or we will find a more inventive place to put this, yes?" Tony's eyes flew open and he shook his head so hard that it banged off the crucifix and he got some serious whiplash. So, that's how they continued. Loki drew on Tony's back, the flaming-hot poker his paintbrush and the blistering skin the art left in its wake. Tony continued to scream and whimper but not once did he close his eyes. Tears poured down his face, blood ran from the part of his lip he had to tear apart whenever a final detail needed to be printed deeper or the poker drifted too far to the side and grazed the tip of a rib. The pain was relentless, and never-ending, and Tony thought for a minute that Loki was actually trying to kill him. A human simply couldn't endure so much pain for so long. Had it been seconds, minutes? It certainly hadn't been hours, Tony managed to think. This was only the beginning. Loki had never been more right; Tony was so out of his depth.

Tony watched Loki's arm dip up and down, swipe left to right, twirl and twist and never fucking stop. His eyes never left Tony's back. Whatever he was doing, he evidently had to do perfectly, and Tony was pretty fucking sure that he was succeeding. 

The burning metal left his skin for a second, a blissful second, and Tony managed to turn screams into sobs. His vision darkened at the edges and unconsciousness beckoned him, but he was so much more afraid of what Loki would do to him when he wasn't awake to witness it. Whatever transpired in this room, no matter how horrible and excruciating, Tony would see it through, and he would do it conscious. 

The blissful second turned into another, then another, and before long, Loki ceased his inspection and seemed to decide he'd done enough. When he turned to drop the iron back in the fire, Tony allowed himself just the tiniest reprieve and closed his eyes for a second. Thankfully, he was able to open them before Loki turned back around. 

Tony watched Loki grab the scepter from where it stood in the center of the room. He held the thing delicately, made it look like it could drop clumsily from his hands at any point, but Tony knew better. Loki didn't do anything without doing it deliberately. So, when he changed his grip and moved the thing toward Tony, the superhero knew he was in for some shit.

Loki pressed the tip of the scepter into the small of Tony's back forcefully and spoke a language so foreign that Tony couldn't even begin to analyze it. As he spoke, blue smoke began to rise slowly from the skin as blood trailed its way down his back. There were too many stimuli, too much pain, that Tony couldn't help but close his eyes and emit a tortured roar. Loki didn't seem to notice.

The weird words stopped flowing. The scepter stopped digging. The smoke cleared, some of the pain dissipated, and Tony opened his eyes to reveal baby-blue irises.

 

 


End file.
